MILFORD – The town received roughly 70 bids for subcontract work on the Milford Youth Center, for projects ranging from masonry to roofing.

The bids were divided into 13 categories and ranged in cost from $26,000 to $1.1 million, according to a bid tabulation sheet on the town’s website.

"There were a few bids that were not in the range we expected, but in general most of the sub bids were in the range we had planned for," said Town Engineer Vonnie Reis

The town plans a $5.1 million renovation of the 103-year-old former armory building that includes bringing it up to fire code, making it handicap assessible and repairing structural problems, said Selectman Brian Murray, who is a member of the Armory Renovation Committee.

The project was put out to bid in July with general contractor bids due Sept. 5. The Armory Renovation Committee hopes to award a contract on Sept. 10, Murray said.

For the nine to 12 months the renovations are expected to take place, the youth center will relocate to another building in town. That location has not yet been determined.

The sub bids are for smaller jobs that fall outside the general contractor’s workload but are the first step in the contract process, Reis said.

Companies looking to bid on project will have to take a subcontractor from every category and factor that cost into their final bid, Reis said.

"The process so far has gone smoothly," said Murray. "We're just going to keep our fingers crossed the general bids come in as anticipated."

"We’ll have the building available to start as soon as contract is awarded," Reis said.

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-634-7582 or at wshaner@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bshaner_MDN.